Japanese Visitor Leaves Mexico After Stay at Airport
A Japanese man who lived inside Mexico City’s airport for almost four months has returned home, the Associated Press reported.
Hiroshi Nohara, 41, returned to Japan today on a flight via San Francisco, AP said, citing airport spokesman Victor Manuel Mejia. His extended stay at the airport made him a celebrity, with people visiting him to take pictures, buy him food and donate clothes.
Nohara, who arrived in Mexico on a United Airlines flight Sept. 2, slept in the crowded food court on the international departures level for 117 days before leaving the airport Dec. 28 to stay at the home of a woman named Oyuki. He returned to the airport yesterday, Reforma newspaper said today.
During an interview with Bloomberg News in November, Nohara never provided a clear answer to why he had decided to live in the city’s airport.
Atlantic City Wants More Carriers for Airport
As Atlantic City struggles with the recession and plunging casino revenue, an effort is under way to lure more airline carriers to start service to and from Atlantic City Airport.
Backers of the effort say it is essential if the resort is to become the kind of destination that people from all over the nation come to, rather than remaining the province of bus-riding day-trippers.
A few weeks after it began, the effort has already had one modest success: Spirit Airlines, the only regular carrier operating at the airport, announced it will begin service between Boston and Atlantic City on May 1.
A coalition formed to promote the airport is targeting new markets in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and cities east of the Mississippi.
Bart Mueller, executive director of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the airport, said the effort to lure new business is due in part to the hard times the Atlantic City region is experiencing.
“I’ve always been a believer that out of catastrophe walks opportunity,” he said. “Some of the conversations we’re having now we would not have been having six months ago, and that’s a good thing.”
The effort is backed by most of the city’s 11 casinos, as well as the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, and the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority.
Spirit Airlines has the airport pretty much to itself; it is the only regularly scheduled carrier operating out of the airport, flying to limited destinations in Florida, South Carolina and parts of the Caribbean, with connecting service to Latin America.
But several charter operators also fly to and from Atlantic City. The airport averages 14 to 16 flights a day, and handled 1.2 million passengers in 2007.
In contrast, Newark Liberty International Airport handled more than 37 million passengers last year.
Located in Egg Harbor Township, about 13 miles from downtown Atlantic City, the airport touts itself as a less crowded, easier-to-get-to alternative to larger international airports in Newark and Philadelphia.
It was established in 1942 as a Naval Air Station on 4,312 acres leased from Atlantic City. In 1958, the lease was transferred to what is now the Federal Aviation Administration. Scheduled airline service was suspended from 1971 to 1978, when USAir, the former Allegheny Airlines, began operating there.
The transportation authority clearly believes the airport will get more traffic. Future plans include an $18 million terminal expansion, a $10 million apron expansion, a hotel and conference center, and freight and cargo development.
A new baggage screening facility was recently completed as part of a $7.1 million airport renovation, and a $24.5 million, six-story, 1,400-space parking garage opened this summer.
Spirit said it was pleased by the upgrades in Atlantic City, and by the potential in Boston.
“We are thrilled that that these communities are creating the right environment for Spirit to continue to grow these important focus cities,” said Barry Biffle, Spirit’s chief marketing officer.
The authority is considering lowering landing fees for new carriers for the first year they operate at Atlantic City, and will engage in joint marketing efforts with them. About $150,000 in marketing will be spent for Spirit’s new service, Mueller said.
Airport expansion in Atlantic City will be welcomed by the city’s casinos, who have been hit particularly hard by the recession.
This will be the second straight year of declining casino revenue after 28 consecutive years of increases. The industry’s woes began when slots parlors opened in the Philadelphia suburbs two years ago, stealing many of Atlantic City’s customers, and worsened in recent months, first when gas prices shot up, then when the economy nose-dived.
For the first 11 months of this year, Atlantic City casinos won $4.2 billion from gamblers, down 6.7 percent from the same period last year.
“Atlantic City’s revenues have been challenged as many visitors within the drive market are being pulled away by slot parlors in New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware,” said Maureen Adams, vice president of national casino marketing and sales for Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., which operates four casinos in Atlantic City. “Expanding service at Atlantic City Airport will make Atlantic City’s casinos, shops and restaurants convenient to a previously untapped market of visitors.”
India Aviation Industry : Unisys Supports Delhi International Airport’s Successful Opening of Terminal 3
Unisys Corporation today announced that its Indian subsidiary, acting as system integrator for Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), worked alongside DIAL to successfully commence operations at Terminal 3 at the city’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Terminal 3 was built to cater for India’s growing aviation industry, and will welcome visitors for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Terminal 3 is a state of the art integrated passenger terminal featuring world class facilities. It will provide additional capacity of 34 million passengers a year to Delhi’s IGI Airport. It will cater for increased air traffic expected for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and thereafter. The terminal covers 502,000 square meters of space with 92 automated walkways and 78 aerobridges. The new terminal is among the largest airport terminal buildings in the world. The total cost of the terminal is estimated at approximately Rs 12,850 Crores or US$2.7 billion.
In its first week of operation, DIAL Terminal 3 has handled approximately 140,000 passengers, 850 international flights and 5,845 metric tons of belly cargo.
“Passenger delight has always been one single goal for us at DIAL, and I strongly believe that we will achieve that with the opening and operation of T3. We have worked very closely with Unisys to implement the best ideas and solutions in the industry,” said Prabhakararao Indana, CEO – Airport Development, DIAL.
Sue Carter, Asia Pacific Vice President, Global Commercial Industries, Unisys said, “The eyes of the world will be on Delhi in the lead up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. We are delighted to have worked with DIAL on Terminal 3 at such an exciting time in the development of India’s expanding aviation industry.”
DIAL awarded Unisys India two contracts in September 2008: master systems integrator for the entire airport and systems integrator for the Terminal 3 project.
As the master systems integrator, Unisys leveraged its expertise to advise DIAL on the organization processes and roles, and to develop the standard operating procedures for the Airport Operations Control Centre. Unisys was responsible for testing the systems against business scenarios to give DIAL the assurance that the integrated systems could support the airport’s operational requirements.
In the systems integrator role, Unisys was responsible for reviewing and coordinating the design, installation, commissioning and integration of IT systems delivered by 12 separate companies. These systems cover the full range of IT services required by a modern airport, including terminal-wide managed network, full CCTV coverage with more than 3,000 cameras, complete access control, public address system, flight information displays, check-in and boarding gate systems, and a fully integrated building management system.
To manage the project Unisys drew on the experience garnered from similar projects around the world, including a proven project management methodology which was customized to address the unique needs of DIAL’s Terminal 3 project in order to deliver an integrated systems environment.
Airlines Sue FAA Over Crew Rest
Several of the nation’s largest airlines have joined in a lawsuit to block stronger federal rules on crew rest during the longest international flights.
The airlines say that the Federal Aviation Administration bypassed usual rule-making procedures and denied them the right to comment before it notified American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. of the new rules in late October.
The petition was filed Dec. 24 in the federal appellate court in Washington by American, Continental, UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue and two smaller carriers.
In their filing, the airlines said the new requirements would saddle them with “substantial burdens and costs.” They charged the FAA did not show how the rules would improve safety.
The FAA rules would require that pilots on the longest international flights get more rest before flying again. The extra rest would be required even when only 10 percent of flights on a particular route exceed 16 hours.
The FAA was trying to address pilot fatigue, which unions and others have argued is a growing safety concern, especially on flights that can run 16 hours or longer.
American believes that the FAA should follow “the accepted and required process” of giving notice and allowing the industry and public to comment before issuing new rules, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American.
FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said crew fatigue is a serious safety issue.
“It makes sense for airlines to use an FAA-approved program based on the latest science – circadian rhythm and time-zone changes – to reduce the risk of fatigue to flight crews,” she said.
Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s largest carrier, did not join the lawsuit. It agreed to more crew rest before and after the longest international flights while being allowed to sometimes work pilots more than eight hours a day.
In a letter to American, FAA officials said they met with “potentially affected stakeholders” in April, May and June and changed their proposal in response to some of the comments.
Pilot fatigue has become a more visible safety issue as U.S. airlines seek to expand service to Asia, often flying long polar routes.
Airlines Likely to Make Prices Soar After Ash Cloud Crisis
As most people already know, airlines took a big hit after the ash cloud caused much of Europe to ground planes for the better part of a week. Now airlines are likely to add more than $50 to the price of transatlantic tickets in a bid to recoup losses from the volcanic ash crisis.
According to the Center of Economics and Business Research, fares could jump up as much as 5.2 percent. This would add about £31 to an economy flight to New York on a British Airways flight, meaning that the ticket would cost about £545. It could also add about £12 to the cost of a flight to Italy, taking it up to £239.
Experts go on to predict that fares could rise by a further 2.9 percent in 2011, and yet another 3.4 percent come 2012. This would push the average cost of a London to New York economy class ticket up £62 over the next three years.
Economic forecasting estimates that airlines lost about £1.3 billion due to the closure of northern European airspace. During this time, hundreds of thousands of planes were canceled. According to the International Air Transport Association, global airlines have lost about $1.7 billion in revenue as a result of the disruptions caused by the volcanic eruption.
Also, soaring oil prices, which are currently 75 percent higher in the first quarter of 2010 when compare to the same time in 2009, are also putting airlines under intense pressure to recoup their losses. This could lead to many airlines applying to the European Union for aid. Many weaker players could even end up filing for bankruptcy.
